From the Heart
by LostInDreams23
Summary: An old leader leaves WindClan to a young cat. Follow his adventures as he grows and becomes a leader just in time to face an ancient rival of the Clans that tracked them to the lake after nearly eight generations.


The body of a fierce golden tom lay at the feet of the once great leader. Cottonstar looked down at Wheatstone's body as the choice of who to pick as his next deputy weighed down heavily upon him. The deputy had died in battle with RiverClan just a few hours ago as the once great tom felt the weight nearly crushing him. He had been a leader for four turns of the seasons and had been a senior warrior when the position fell to him.

He had been planning on leaving the Clan in Wheatstone's capable paws as he looked down at the body. He was trying to think, trying to choose as he went through a dozen strong warriors in his mind.

Hayhide was Wheatstone's brother and shared his golden coat but none of his kindness. Hayhide would hide in the tall grass during battle and then attack whoever came too close to his hiding spot with no mercy.

Timberbrow was another warrior who came to mind, but he had no pity in his heart for the weak. He would lead the warriors well, but he would not lead the queens and elders with respect.

Badgereye slipped into his mind as he remembered how fiercely the tom had fought in the last battle and Wheatstone had praised him greatly for it. Cottonstar heaved a sigh, if he left Badgereye in charge when he died, Wheatstone's death would not go unavenged. At least that tom had the chance of making WindClan work after leading them in a pointless battle over Wheatstone.

Cottonstar breathed in a shaky breath as he pulled himself to his paws and turned away from his deputy to try and climb the boulder that marked the Clan's meeting place. He was too stiff, he couldn't even climb the rock anymore. He glared at the rock when a young warrior with russet red fur stepped up next to him.

"Let me help Cottonstar." The tom mewed as Cottonstar gave the young cat a warm smile of thanks and stepped on the cats strong shoulders before being lifted the last few inches he couldn't make. He stepped up onto the rock and looked down at the kind tom.

"Thank you Rowanheart." He said before he called the Clan for a Clan gathering. Each of the senior warriors looked proudly at their aging leader as they gathered in the front. Cottonstar began to speak, telling the Clan that Wheatstone would not be forgotten so easily. He talked about all that Wheatstone had done for the Clan, how he kept them working as a Clan through thick and thin.

He had gone on to StarClan, somewhere Cottonstar was going to go very shortly.

"A leader's lives can not save him from old age. I am on my last life as it is now, so my dear Clanmates the next Deputy I choose may be your leader within half a moon's time." The white leader said as he sat on the rock.

He looked through the senior warriors, wondering what choice to make. If he chose Cherrygaze, no one would respect the quiet warrior enough to follow her. Redmask would get power-hungry and try to take more territory from other Clans.

Pinpricks of fear traveled up Cottonstar's spine as he looked down at Fillysong, their medicine Cat. Her eyes were full of worry as Cottonstar felt the fear bubble inside of him. He looked from one warrior to the next, trying to choose.

No cat!

Not one of the cats in his Clan was ready to be a leader! No one had all the traits that would make them a good leader! His senior warriors all looked on expectantly when Cottonstar looked away from them though he saw one cat that made every swirling, burning emotion in his mind stop.

It was so obvious.

How many times had every cat thanked him? He was selfless, he was kind, he could be fierce in battle but he never killed. He was a good hunter, he respected his elders and he helped the queens every step of the way. He had only one apprentice, Horsepath, who had become a warrior last moon. Horsepath was a good cat, she had been taught to honor the warrior code and stick to the right path, even though it wasn't always the easiest path.

"Rowanheart."

Cottonstar said the name softly at first, but felt pride fill his chest as he said the name once more. "Rowanheart!" He called louder as the young tom looked utterly confused. Why shouldn't he? He had only been made a warrior eight moons ago, trained his first apprentice through winter and was now being offered the position of deputy and soon, leader.

The other cats were all murmuring, staring at the russet furred tom as he moved forward in a very slow confused manner as Cottonstar kept talking.

"I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors and Wheatstone may hear and approve of my choice. The new Deputy of WindClan is Rowanheart!" Cottonstar shouted out as he saw the young tom look so shell shocked.

Badgereye let out a yowl of disapproval, "You want to leave HIM in charge Cottonstar? He's practically an apprentice himself!" The tom snarled as a few other senior warriors began to voice their complaints as well.

"Rowanheart, your mind is as sharp as your claws and you are loyal to all of your Clanmates... I know you are the..." Cottonstar's eyes suddenly widdened as he coughed up a splatter of blood before he slipped off the rock falling next to Wheatstone's body as Fillysong rushed forward with many other cats.

"Cottonstar!" Fillysong touched the great cat's body with a soft paw before she withdrew her paw slowly and turned her head away. "StarClan took him." She mewed sadly as the Clan went into an uproar.

Rowanheart's paws shook as he looked at the still body of his leader, who had just made him deputy. That meant that he would soon be... a leader. It was impossible.

"It's a mistake! StarClan took him because there is NO way Rowanheart could be the leader!" Badgereye led as a few other cats joined in the angry cries.

Fillysong turned her brown head towards Badgereye and growled low in her throat as the Clan fell silent, down to the youngest kit. The Medicine Cat never growled unless she meant business and it seemed she most certainly did.

"Enough Badgereye. Rowanheart was chosen by Cottonstar. Tonight I will take him to the Moonpool and we will see what StarClan has to say. Until then you will hold your tongues!" Fillysong snapped as most of the cats backed down from the Medicine cat.

Many cats were looking at Rowanheart with mistrust and some with hatred in their eyes. He was a young warrior with only one apprentice beneath him and in the span of a few minuets he became deputy and then leader.

"Whose he going to pick for his deputy?" Timberbrow sneered, as he moved closer to Rowanheart.

"He won't last long as a leader... We'll be the laughing stock of the Clans." A black tom named Beetleclaw growled out as he turned to look at Quailrain, a gray speckled queen who had her four kits tucked close to her belly.

"No... surely it was a mistake." Quailrain agreed as one of her kits looked up at Rowanheart who was still staring at Cottonstar's limp body. As the Clan growled and grumbled about their new leader, the tom moved forward to lick at Cottonstar's messy white fur. He blocked out the noise of his Clanmates as he began to sooth the white tom's fur down and into place.

Fillysong found a warmth filling her chest as the Clan fell quiet, watching Rowanheart lick the white fur down gently. Quailrain's amber eyes focused on the new leader as she re-called him giving her most of his meal throughout the last LeafBare so she could give birth to four, very healthy kits.

Horsepath joined Rowanheart licking the fur of Wheatstone down into a smooth line as the Clan stared at the pair for a long moment. Little memories came to mind, small deeds and great deeds that the modest tom had done for them throughout his short life. He fought to protect his Clanmates in battle, often getting hurt only when he used himself as a shield for his Clanmates.

One by one, the cats joined Rowanheart in sharing tongues with the two fallen cats. Fillysong sat apart from the other Clan members, looking up at the skyline as StarClan slowly painted bright colors across the darkening sky. The she-cat had coarse brown fur with four patches of burnt flesh from when she had become trapped in a fire when she was young. Her muzzle was peppered with gray fur as she thought of the four kits near Quailrain's belly.

Mintkit, Yarrowkit, Rosekit and Brackenkit all nestled with their mother as the queen went back to the nursery to rest for the rest of the evening. Fillysong studied each kit in turn and silently prayed for StarClan to help her choose one of them to become the next Medicine Cat of WindClan. As the sky above turned dark and the stars began to twinkle in the heavens above Fillysong knew it was time. She walked towards the russet tom who still bathed Cottonstar's pelt as if a great amount of sharing tongues would make him rise up once more.

"It's time."

The Clan had been mostly quiet for the past few hours, aside from some noises from the kits so when Fillysong's sure voice filled the camp every cat lifted their heads to look at the she-cat. Fillysong had been so reassured by the Clan's acceptance she hadn't looked at Rowanheart's eyes until that moment. The hazel eyes of the young cat held so many emotions it made Fillysong's heart ache for him. Very gently, the she-cat laid her tail on his shoulders as she moved next to him, "Rowanheart, before we leave you need to ask someone to be ..." She trailed off as the tom looked at her for a long moment before he lifted his head to look at the other cats.

"This isn't for the deputy position Rowanheart, for that we will visit StarClan, just someone to watch the Clan for the evening." She mewed out encouragingly as the russet tom when he looked down to his paws. This was too much responsibility all at once for the tom.

"No... a Clan cannot be without a deputy before moonhigh." Rowanheart said quietly as he looked at his Clanmates. He looked at each cat and found he felt quite small in comparison to the lot of them. An older member of the senior warriors caught his eye, the tom was going gray in the face but Thorntip's prickly fur still shone healthily. His hazel eyes looked from one cat to another before they came to Badgereye.

The cat to complain the loudest about him was starting to seem like the perfect choice as Rowanheart cleared his throat.

"Badgereye?" He asked as the black and white tom turned to look at Rowanheart with copper eyes going wide in wonderment. "Would you please watch over the Clan while I go with Fillysong and serve as my Deputy?" He asked as the tom felt a bit of laughter tug at the back of his mind. He had wanted to be leader one day, of course he'd take the job.

"I will Rowanheart, go on. StarClan's waiting." He said with a proud gleam in his eyes as he stood up a little taller than before as if he was preening before Rowanheart and Fillysong left the Clan to slowly walk towards Moonpool.

"Why did you pick Badgereye?" Fillysong asked as they walked in silence, "You know he makes rash choices and-"

"It's because he makes rash choices and because of his fighting spirit." He replied softly, "He has qualities I lack..." He explained as the pair walked together.

"Rowanheart, Cottonstar made the right choice in choosing you." She mewed after a long pause between the two. "StarClan was so pleased with his choice they ended his suffering right then. It was a good omen, not a bad one." She explained, trying to cheer the tom up. His head was low like his tail and he seemed... lost. Even though they were still in WindClan territory he walked as though he was lost.

"... Rowanheart... We are here." The Medicine Cat said quietly as she led him to the pool within the small cavern as the tom settled next to the pool and stared down into the water.

"We will wait until the moonlight touches the pool, then you will drink from the pool and sleep." Fillysong said quietly as the tom looked down at the water with that same lost look in his hazel eyes. Fillysong felt the weight of the Clan on his shoulders filling up the cavern and was thankful when it came time for the tom to drink.

She watched him lap up a few mouthfuls of water before tucking his head down on his outstretched paws as sleep took him. She knew that the leader ceremony was not her place so she waited, watching his body as she waited to see the tom twist in pain as he gained his lives.

Hours passed in silence as Fillysong found herself pacing near the sleeping tom. Why was it taking so long? Cottonstar's ceremony lasted only an hour and Rowanheart had barely even breathed since he fell asleep. There was no withering on his side from the pain of those new lives being added to him.

The sun had begun to rise before his body finally twisted in sharp pain. His pelt shook and trembled eight times before he went still once more. Fillysong held her breath until the sun rose completely as Rowanheart rolled to his paws. He raised his head before he turned to look at Fillysong as she felt her breath get stolen away in an instant.

His eyes had been pale hazel and now the green was so much darker and so was the almost orange center. His eyes were not full of doubt, his eyes were full of some sort of solid emotion. It wasn't pride, it wasn't courage, it wasn't love nor was it any emotion she knew other than some type of focus.

"We need to get back to the Clan Fillysong, let's go." He spoke quietly as he walked out past the Medicine Cat and headed towards home. Fillysong fell into step behind the russet furred tom as she wondered what had happened during his leader ceremony. He led her to the Clan's camp and noted that both bodies of Wheatstone and Cottonstar had been taken away from in front of the leader's rock by the elders. With one bounding motion the tom's powerful hind legs launched him onto the high-stone that the great leaders of WindClan had spoken from for six generations since they had moved to be by the lake.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High-Stone for a Clan meeting!" The tom's voice was not held back any longer, he spoke with the authority of a real leader as the cats gathered beneath the rock, looking back at the tom with wide eyes.

"Last night I made Badgereye my deputy before I went to receive my lives from StarClan, I do not regret that choice for a moment. Badgereye, you have had six apprentices who learned how to serve the Clan under your guidance. I must now ask you to take over the duties of a deputy and organize the hunting and border patrols. I also want to thank Tornear and Blackstrike for burying our previous deputy and leader, they send their thanks from StarClan." The tom spoke as he looked first at Badgereye and then at the two elders of the Clan.

"I was gifted with the lives StarClan gives to a leader, as well as my name. I am now Rowanstar... and I will keep our Clan safe." He swore as the clan let out yowls of praise for the tom. How could they know the future, how could they see what lay ahead? For now, the frightened cats were reassured by the presence of a strong cat as their leader.


End file.
